photo: Matt Zambonin/IIHF
Canada scored four times in the first period and skated to a one-sided 14-0 win over Hungary tonight in Membertou.
Adrianna Milani and Hayley McDonald each had a hat trick for the winners while goalie Rowan Houweling stopped only eleven shots to record the shutout. In all, 17 players had at least one point. Megan Mossey had two goals and two assists while Sofia Ismael had a goal and three helpers.
The win keeps Canada in first place in Group A and sets up a showdown with Sweden for top spot to end the preliminary round. The loss leaves Hungary at 0-2 and ensures tomorrow's critical game against 0-2 Switzerland will decide last place in the preliminary round, entering the quarter-finals.
The only previous WW18 meeting between these teams came back during the 2014 U18 Women’s Worlds, a 4-1 Canada victory.
"There were many positives," said Canada's coach Vicky Sunohara, "but we were a little bit disappointed with some of the scoring chances that we gave up, and we felt like it was maybe a lack of focus, not changing, or, you know, not tracking back. So we've got to clean that up. But obviously the offensive production and some of the goals that were scored were pretty nice. Sharing the puck and things like that. So that was positive, but we want to be a little bit sharper."
"We knew that this is going to be a hard game, and we already practiced for that," said Hungary's captain Reka Hiezl. "Our plan wasn't, like, we need to win. The plan was that we need to be really good in the D-zone and just get ready. Obviously Canada are a really good team. I have friends on that team, so I'm just glad we learned from this game and we continue the tournament like this."
The Canadians burst out of the gates tonight, scoring their first goal after just two minutes. Mossey sped down the right side and beat Zoe Takacs with a clean shot. Three minutes later, they added to their lead on a power play. This time Mossey did the setting up, and Adrianna Milani did the finishing off a pass to the back side of the goal.
Although shots favoured Canada 26-2, one of those Hungarian shots was a gem. Hiezl got the puck in the low slot but blasted a shot right into the midsection of Rowan Houweling for a solid but routine save.
Soon after, Milani got her second of the game when she was in a similar position to Hiezl but made no mistake with the great chance. And then, with only 39.1 seconds left in the period, McDonald tipped an Anais Leprohon shot past Takacs to make it 4-0 after the first.
Canada did not let up in the second, scoring four more on Takacs before coach Zoltan Fodor pulled her in favour of Csenge Csordas. The fresher Takacs could be for tomorrow’s more critical game, the better.
Before departing, Takacs made an incredible pad save on Kendall Doiron, but moments later Doiron scored anyway on a close-in shot. Takacs kicked out the left pad again a short time later to rob Milani of a sure goal, but Mossey and McDonald counted goals before Takacs’s departure.
Csordas fared no better. Milani got her hat-trick goal on the first shot Csordas faced, and McDonald then got her hat trick on a power play off a bouncing puck in front.
In the third, Canada finally slowed down, scoring three goals but not being as aggressive on the puck. Final shots favoured Canada, 74-11.
"We played against the best team in the world," said Hungary's coach, Zoltan Fodor. "We tried our best, and we competed for the full 60 minutes. I think we played a really solid game, and we weren't just defending in front of our goal. We tried to use our skills to play as well as possible."
Adrianna Milani and Hayley McDonald each had a hat trick for the winners while goalie Rowan Houweling stopped only eleven shots to record the shutout. In all, 17 players had at least one point. Megan Mossey had two goals and two assists while Sofia Ismael had a goal and three helpers.
The win keeps Canada in first place in Group A and sets up a showdown with Sweden for top spot to end the preliminary round. The loss leaves Hungary at 0-2 and ensures tomorrow's critical game against 0-2 Switzerland will decide last place in the preliminary round, entering the quarter-finals.
The only previous WW18 meeting between these teams came back during the 2014 U18 Women’s Worlds, a 4-1 Canada victory.
"There were many positives," said Canada's coach Vicky Sunohara, "but we were a little bit disappointed with some of the scoring chances that we gave up, and we felt like it was maybe a lack of focus, not changing, or, you know, not tracking back. So we've got to clean that up. But obviously the offensive production and some of the goals that were scored were pretty nice. Sharing the puck and things like that. So that was positive, but we want to be a little bit sharper."
"We knew that this is going to be a hard game, and we already practiced for that," said Hungary's captain Reka Hiezl. "Our plan wasn't, like, we need to win. The plan was that we need to be really good in the D-zone and just get ready. Obviously Canada are a really good team. I have friends on that team, so I'm just glad we learned from this game and we continue the tournament like this."
The Canadians burst out of the gates tonight, scoring their first goal after just two minutes. Mossey sped down the right side and beat Zoe Takacs with a clean shot. Three minutes later, they added to their lead on a power play. This time Mossey did the setting up, and Adrianna Milani did the finishing off a pass to the back side of the goal.
Although shots favoured Canada 26-2, one of those Hungarian shots was a gem. Hiezl got the puck in the low slot but blasted a shot right into the midsection of Rowan Houweling for a solid but routine save.
Soon after, Milani got her second of the game when she was in a similar position to Hiezl but made no mistake with the great chance. And then, with only 39.1 seconds left in the period, McDonald tipped an Anais Leprohon shot past Takacs to make it 4-0 after the first.
Canada did not let up in the second, scoring four more on Takacs before coach Zoltan Fodor pulled her in favour of Csenge Csordas. The fresher Takacs could be for tomorrow’s more critical game, the better.
Before departing, Takacs made an incredible pad save on Kendall Doiron, but moments later Doiron scored anyway on a close-in shot. Takacs kicked out the left pad again a short time later to rob Milani of a sure goal, but Mossey and McDonald counted goals before Takacs’s departure.
Csordas fared no better. Milani got her hat-trick goal on the first shot Csordas faced, and McDonald then got her hat trick on a power play off a bouncing puck in front.
In the third, Canada finally slowed down, scoring three goals but not being as aggressive on the puck. Final shots favoured Canada, 74-11.
"We played against the best team in the world," said Hungary's coach, Zoltan Fodor. "We tried our best, and we competed for the full 60 minutes. I think we played a really solid game, and we weren't just defending in front of our goal. We tried to use our skills to play as well as possible."
Canada vs Hungary - 2026 IIHF U18 Women's Worlds Championship
OF